Amy Herzog
of Queens College, with "A Bunny Is Being Beaten: A Tale of Political
Violence, Oedipal Angst, and a Lost Televisual Object (in which the
author reveals far more about her psychosexual development than anyone
ever wanted to know....)”

Evan Michelson on a Whale Bulla, and How it is Possible to Love, Desire and Hate an Object at the Same Time

Thursday, June 28, 2012

...There is something sufficiently peculiar (read unexpected, off-putting, or downright disturbing) about the lively posturing of animal skins that suggests only an aficionada could possibly write a book on the subject. If I had written a history of slavery, no one would assume any such thing. I don't love taxidermy. I don't collect taxidermy. But for six years of my life, I found it irresistible.

My taxidermy years didn't grow from love, but they did begin with an unsettling sort of fascination. Like a moth irresistibly drawn towards a bare bulb, I have been all-consumed. Some might say obsessed. I've visited natural history museums and private collections across the western world. I've written about taxidermy, curated exhibits about taxidermy, photographed, blogged and talked about taxidermy. I've seen the beautiful, the devastating and the repugnant from haunting works of contemporary art to ancient animal remains lost in almost-forgotten museums. Through my website Ravishing Beasts, I've corresponded with lovers, haters, activists, and kooks (one reader let me know he had smoked the ashes of his dead cat), all because of the unnerving charisma of long dead animals. For me, obsession and fascination don't equate with love and adoration, and a thing can only fascinate for as long as it retains its inexplicable magnetism.

I'm sure you've all had an encounter with taxidermy, whether it was with a museum specimen, a hunting trophy, or a piece of contemporary art. If you gave the animal more than a passing glance, you know something of taxidermy's uncanny mesmeric presence, the way it draws your eyes and demands attention. You can't ignore a stuffed parrot on the mantelpiece in the way you might overlook a ceramic vase, and my fascination with taxidermy was really an obsessive quest to explain why. Why does the artistic recreation of an animal using the animal's own skin (undeniably a very odd practice) create such eerie animal-things?

“The body of Inez was lifted from the grave, placed on a magnificent throne, and crowned Queen of Portugal. The clergy, the nobility, and the people did homage to her corpse, and kissed the bones of her hands. There sat the dead Queen, with her yellow hair hanging like a veil round her ghastly form. One fleshless hand held the sceptre, and the other the orb of royalty. At night, after the coronation ceremony, a procession was formed of all the clergy and nobility, the religious orders and confraternities which extended over many miles each person holding a flaring torch in his hand, and thus walked from Coimbra to Alcobaga, escorting the crowned corpse to that royal abbey for interment. The dead Queen lay in her rich robes upon a chariot drawn by black mules and lighted up by hundreds of lights.”

This summer, the Florence Nightingale Museum will host an eclectic exhibition of around 60 objects that explores the rich history and substance of bone, across cultures, throughout time and between disciplines.

Mobile Studio Architects will transform part of the museum allowing visitors to explore objects including an x-ray of Sigmund Freud's head, a cat skeleton to ward off evil spirits, a skull shaped candle made for Marilyn Manson's wedding, a contemporary apothecary jar showing the effects of syphilis on bone, cutting edge medical bone imaging and Florence Nightingale’s pet tortoise ‘Jimmy’.

The exhibition will reflect bone’s intriguing and multi-faceted story in its objects as well as through live performances and demonstrations by biomedical researchers and clinicians, forensic archaeologists, bone carvers, dancers, historians, artists and other professional bone users.

Simon Gould, BONE Curator says:
“I am so excited to be bringing together some of the most extraordinary objects from more than a dozen of London’s museums and collections along with remarkable medical expertise and acclaimed contemporary artists. Bone is an astonishing material and this exhibition promises to bring this to life for the visitor.”

Natasha McEnroe, Director of the Florence Nightingale Museum says:
“In the heart of London’s Southbank in this Olympic year, we are thrilled to be hosting BONE and to offer our visitors an even more inspiring experience. Following the museum’s hugely successful refurbishment in 2010, this multi-disciplinary exhibition will further establish the Florence Nightingale Museum’s position on London’s cultural and scientific map”.

Showman Robert Winter painted chemical dioramas “in the style of Daguerre.” He came to New York in 1843, showing his “chemical paintings” in Manhattan and Brooklyn, and for the next 20 years he traveled widely, eventually adding a magic lantern to his show. Historian Suzanne Wray has been researching Mr. Winter's show for several years and the Coney Island Museum is thrilled to finally be able to share her work with the public.

You can find out more--and purchase advance tickets--by clicking here.

Image: Le Dyorama, an engraving by Marlet of Daguerre’s Diorama, 1824 found at dwellstudio.com.

As most of you have no doubt already heard, on Good Friday of this year, The Morbid Anatomy Library suffered a mighty and devastating deluge.
This Saturday, June 30th, Morbid Anatomy and Observatory will
host an epic and underground-star-studded rebuilding gala, and we would
love to see you there.

Following is a somewhat finalized schedule. The party begins at 8, and the performance begins at 9; tickets will be sold on a first come, first served basis. Hope to see you there!

8:00: Doors, drinks, and music9:00: Introductory remarks by our MCs Evan Michelson of The Science Channel's "Oddities" and cult writer and luminary Mark Dery9:10: World Premiere of Morbid Anatomy episode of The Midnight Archive, directed by Ronni Thomas9:20: A Series of 5-minute "Odes to Material Culture:"

Amy Herzog of Queens College, with "A Bunny Is Being Beaten: A Tale of Political Violence, Oedipal Angst, and a Lost Televisual Object (in which the author reveals far more about her psychosexual development than anyone ever wanted to know....)”

Evan Michelson on a Whale Bulla, and How it is Possible to Love, Desire and Hate an Object at the Same Time

Following will be complimentary cocktails, music by Friese Undine, screenings of The Midnight Archive, performances by Jonny Clockworks, and droll giveaways from the design firm Kikkerland. Attendees are encouraged to dress "Obscurely."

Throughout the night, you will also be invited to bid on objects in our silent auction which included works by such amazing artists and makers as:

Monday, June 25, 2012

The first episode of Season 2 of The Midnight Archive--that wonderful web-based documentary series centered around Brooklyn'sObservatory--has just gone live! It features friend of Morbid Anatomy Tim Muller--whose collection you might remember from my recent exhibition Private Cabinets--and his amazing collection of quirky, arcane, and often terrifying machines.

To watch the episode, simply press play in the viewer above. More on Tim and his collection, in the words of director/creator Ronni Thomas:

Old Machines: The Tim Mullen Collection - This episode takes a look at the collection of NYC's Tim Mullen, an engineer with a soft spot for Antique Machinery... His amazing apartment is LITTERED with Machines from before the turn of the century and onwards. The scope of it was pretty hard to capture on film but i hope we did a good job of it. X-Ray Machines, Victorian hospital devices, Old TVs and Radios, and my favorite - a funeral fan (complete with burning Jesus lighting) are just a few of the many amazing items in this electrifying collection. Tim is always on the lookout for 'new' old stuff so if you have anything in your basement - drop him a line!

For
more on the series, to see any of the episodes, or to sign up for the
mailing list and thus be alerted to future uploads, visit The Midnight
Archive website by clicking here. You can also "like" it on Facebook--and be alerted in this way--by clicking here.

I am not sure if these two representations might possibly depict the same saint (Wittoria being an alternate/old fashioned spelling for Vittoria?), or two separate ones. I have been able to find nothing official on the Internet about a Saint Wittoria, though Vittoria seems to be a depiction of the Roman Saint Victoria, "virgin and martyr of
the catacombs." I also am not sure if there are human bones embedded in the wax of St. Victoria, though Marina Warner asserts this is the case in her wonderful book Phantasmagoria, and the close-up photo above of her hand seems to support this assertion.

Regardless of the problems with research, I hope you agree with me that these are astoundingly amazing and fascinating artifacts. These Saints--and many more, both sacred and profane--will be featured in my upcoming exhibition at Viktor Wynde's Fine Arts in London this September. They will also feature in a book I am working on with friend, Morbid Anatomy Library Scholar in Residence and co-star of The Science Channel's "Oddities" Evan Michelson. Stay tuned for more on that!

Sunday, June 24, 2012

We still have a few more slots available for the class "Drawing from the
Bestiary: Animal Anatomy of Real and Imagined Creatures" with one of our favorite artists, Saul Chernick. This class will teach students--via illustrated lectures
and in-class projects including paper puppets and the creation of bestiary pages--"to
use observational and imaginative drawing skills in tandem to capture
the essential qualities of their subject" and "learn to draw animals
(real, mythic, and otherwise) with greater skill and sensitivity."

You can see some of Chernick's wonderful artworks above; you can see more of them by clicking here.
The class will take place on 4 consecutive Mondays, starting tomorrow night June 25 and running until July 16th. The full class description follows. Also, please note that
the class size is limited to 15, so if you are interested, please RSVP
as soon as possible to morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com.

Drawing from the Bestiary: Animal Anatomy of Real and Imagined Creatures with Saul Chernick
A 4-part class with Artist Saul Chernick, M.F.A., Rutgers University
Dates: Mondays June 25, July 2, July 9 and July 16th (4 consecutive Mondays)
Time: 6:30-9:00 PM
Class Fee: $120***Class size limited to 15; Must RSVP to morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com
This class is part of The Morbid Anatomy Art Academy

Contemporary artist and arts educator Saul Chernick
is renowned for gorgeous artworks featuring convincingly corporeal
depictions of imaginary or mythical creatures rendered in the style of
Medieval and early Renaissance woodcuts from Northern Europe.
Observatory is very pleased to announce a new workshop developed by
Saul Chernick specially for the Morbid Anatomy Art Academy.
In this class, Chernick will teach students--via illustrated lectures
and in-class projects including paper puppets and bestiary pages--"to
use observational and imaginative drawing skills in tandem to capture
the essential qualities of their subject" and "learn to draw animals
(real, mythic, and otherwise) with greater skill and sensitivity."

Full class description follows; you can see more of Chernick's fantastic work by clicking here. Class size limited to 15; Please RSVP to morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com.

Course Description
Open to artists of all levels, the goal of this workshop is help
participants learn to draw animals (real, mythic, and otherwise) with
greater skill and sensitivity. Through exercises in drawing and paper
puppetry, participants will gain a deeper understanding of the
skeletal/muscular structures of most mammals, reptiles, and birds.
Participants will also learn to use observational and imaginative
drawing skills in tandem to capture the essential qualities of their
subject and create works of convincing visual fiction!What to expect

Participants will cull images from the web to create a dossier on the animal(s) that interest them

Participants will fashion movable paper puppets to understand how their chosen animal moves

Participants will draw studies of the skeletal and muscular structures of animals

Participants will use the medium of their choice to create a
Bestiary page entry that depicts an animal situated in an environment

MaterialsWhat to bring to the first class:

Choose 1-3 animals and gather pictures on the web. Be sure to get
images of their skeletons in profile. Please print these as they may be
hard to use on a phone screen.

Saul Chernick,
M.F.A., Rutgers University, is a visual artist and educator. Chernick
has exhibited internationally in galleries and museums including the
Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, the Bronx Museum of Art, the Jewish
Museum of Art, as well as Max Protetch and Meulensteen Galleries in New
York City. He has taught art for the public school system, the 92nd
Street Y, Cooper Union, Parson's School of Design, and the Museum of
Modern Art. He is currently the Professional Development Coordinator
for the Joan Mitchell Foundation where he coaches New York artists in
teaching art to young people throughout city. His work can be seen at www.saulchernick.com.

All images are by Saul Chernick and include, top to bottom:

Field
Urchin, 2011, from a series of studies in
which he attempted to impose the proportions of cherubs onto horses.

Desktop 2013, 2010, Ink, Watercolor, & Opaque White on Paper

Heavenly Touch , 2009, Ink, Watercolor, & Opaque White on Paper

Guilty Pleasures, 2010, Ink, Watercolor, & Opaque White on Paper

Ars Gratia Artis, 2010, Ink on Paper

You can found out more here. As mentioned above, class size is limited to 15, so if you are interested, please RSVP as soon as you are able to morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com.

We invite you to join Catherine Scallen, Chair of the Art History department and Jim Edmonson, Curator of the Dittrick Museum on the campus of Case Western Reserve University, for this custom designed tour of the key museums of London, England. Jim's contact with fellow curators and museum directors opens doors and provides the group with unique insights into their collections and aspects not normally open to the general public. Catherine's experience teaching and researching the masters of European Art from 1400 to 1900 will provide historical depth that makes the art museums' collections come alive.

Please note that our deadline for reserving a place on the London tour is June 30,
so contact us today to secure your reservation.

Please note: the final sign up day has been extended to June 30 from June 15th. If interested, you can find out more here.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

For those of you who might not have already heard, on Good Friday of this year, The Morbid Anatomy Library suffered a mighty and devastating deluge. On Saturday, Saturday, June 30th, Observatory and Morbid Anatomy will host an epic and underground-star-studded rebuilding gala, and we would love to see you there.

X-ray Visions: Drawings and Prints from an Artist Residency at the NYU School of Medicine
MSB Gallery, June 11 - August 13, 2012

What if we could look into the body’s inner space with a kind of enhanced x-ray vision, without the need for dissection or medical imaging – perhaps lit by candlelight, with an eye to the beauty within? As an artist at NYU’s School of Medicine I’ve worked to create this kind of personal vision, making drawings in the Anatomy Lab and from 3D radiology images of my own body.

Art looks beneath the surface of life, and for me the place to look has always been the body. A curving spine – asymmetry at my core – means that for me, walking, moving and even breathing require conscious effort, an engagement with the workings of my bones and muscles, nerves, and senses. Drawing myself lets me work from the inside out, to visually convey the feeling of inhabiting this particular, individual body, and the many ways that personal identity and even consciousness are rooted in physical experience.

I see my work as following in the Renaissance tradition of Leonardo da Vinci and his great anatomy drawings, informed by the new ways of seeing made possible by contemporary medical imaging technologies. As a patient with a lifetime of x-rays, I was always fascinated by these mysterious, shadowy pictures – but felt disconnected from a part of me that seemed to belong more to my doctors than to me. As an artist I’ve been able to reclaim this hidden territory for myself, and hope my work can bring viewers to feel a deeper sense of connection with their own unique inner spaces.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

We still have just a few more slots available for the upcoming class "Drawing from the
Bestiary: Animal Anatomy of Real and Imagined Creatures" with one of our favorite artists, Saul Chernick. This class will teach students--via illustrated lectures
and in-class projects including paper puppets and the creation of bestiary pages--"to
use observational and imaginative drawing skills in tandem to capture
the essential qualities of their subject" and "learn to draw animals
(real, mythic, and otherwise) with greater skill and sensitivity."

You can see some of Chernick's wonderful artworks above; you can see more of them by clicking here.
The class will take place on 4 consectutive Mondays, from June 25 to
July 16th. The full class description follows. Also, please note that
the class size is limited to 15, so if you are interested, please RSVP
as soon as possible to morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com.

Drawing from the Bestiary: Animal Anatomy of Real and Imagined Creatures with Saul Chernick
A 4-part class with Artist Saul Chernick, M.F.A., Rutgers University
Dates: Mondays June 25, July 2, July 9 and July 16th (4 consecutive Mondays)
Time: 6:30-9:00 PM
Class Fee: $120***Class size limited to 15; Must RSVP to morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com
This class is part of The Morbid Anatomy Art Academy

Contemporary artist and arts educator Saul Chernick
is renowned for gorgeous artworks featuring convincingly corporeal
depictions of imaginary or mythical creatures rendered in the style of
Medieval and early Renaissance woodcuts from Northern Europe.
Observatory is very pleased to announce a new workshop developed by
Saul Chernick specially for the Morbid Anatomy Art Academy.
In this class, Chernick will teach students--via illustrated lectures
and in-class projects including paper puppets and bestiary pages--"to
use observational and imaginative drawing skills in tandem to capture
the essential qualities of their subject" and "learn to draw animals
(real, mythic, and otherwise) with greater skill and sensitivity."

Full class description follows; you can see more of Chernick's fantastic work by clicking here. Class size limited to 15; Please RSVP to morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com.

Course Description
Open to artists of all levels, the goal of this workshop is help
participants learn to draw animals (real, mythic, and otherwise) with
greater skill and sensitivity. Through exercises in drawing and paper
puppetry, participants will gain a deeper understanding of the
skeletal/muscular structures of most mammals, reptiles, and birds.
Participants will also learn to use observational and imaginative
drawing skills in tandem to capture the essential qualities of their
subject and create works of convincing visual fiction!What to expect

Participants will cull images from the web to create a dossier on the animal(s) that interest them

Participants will fashion movable paper puppets to understand how their chosen animal moves

Participants will draw studies of the skeletal and muscular structures of animals

Participants will use the medium of their choice to create a
Bestiary page entry that depicts an animal situated in an environment

MaterialsWhat to bring to the first class:

Choose 1-3 animals and gather pictures on the web. Be sure to get
images of their skeletons in profile. Please print these as they may be
hard to use on a phone screen.

Saul Chernick,
M.F.A., Rutgers University, is a visual artist and educator. Chernick
has exhibited internationally in galleries and museums including the
Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, the Bronx Museum of Art, the Jewish
Museum of Art, as well as Max Protetch and Meulensteen Galleries in New
York City. He has taught art for the public school system, the 92nd
Street Y, Cooper Union, Parson's School of Design, and the Museum of
Modern Art. He is currently the Professional Development Coordinator
for the Joan Mitchell Foundation where he coaches New York artists in
teaching art to young people throughout city. His work can be seen at www.saulchernick.com.

All images are by Saul Chernick and include, top to bottom:

Field
Urchin, 2011, from a series of studies in
which he attempted to impose the proportions of cherubs onto horses.

Desktop 2013, 2010, Ink, Watercolor, & Opaque White on Paper

Heavenly Touch , 2009, Ink, Watercolor, & Opaque White on Paper

Guilty Pleasures, 2010, Ink, Watercolor, & Opaque White on Paper

Ars Gratia Artis, 2010, Ink on Paper

You can found out more here. As mentioned above, class size is limited to 15, so if you are interested, please RSVP as soon as you are able to morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com.

The Velaslavasay Panorama welcomes José Antonio Rodríguez, who will be here to present an illustrated lecture about pre-cinematic entertainment in Mexico.

Having conducted research on the subject for many years, José Antonio Rodríguez will talk about the multitudinous forms of optical magic, including the magic lantern, diorama, cosmorama, panorama and scientific spectacles which were once popular throughout Mexico and beyond. Professor Rodríguez will discuss the entertainments and forms of visual culture in the eighteenth century as they were experienced in Mexico, which inspired and made possible the proliferation of moving images. He will also address the archaeology of visual media which encouraged the later popularity of the Kinetoscope and the Cinematograph in nineteenth century Mexico. In essence, "The Art of Illusions" will present ideas about how our encounters with visual spectacles guide us in constructing our own vision of the world.

José Antonio Rodríguez is an Art History professor of at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) and the author of the landmark publication The Art of Illusions: Pre-cinematic Entertainment in Mexico published through the National Institute of Anthropology and History in Mexico. He is also the author of Edward Weston: The Look of Rupture; Bernice Kolko: Photographer; Ruth D. Lechuga: A Mexican Memory; and Agustin Jimenez: Memories of the Avant-Garde. He is also the editor of the magazine Alquimia, amongst other works. This will be Professor Rodríguez's first appearance in Los Angeles.

This presentation has been funded in part by The Department of Cultural affairs of the City of Los Angeles, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and The Velaslavasay Panorama Enthusiast Society.

Thursday, June 7, 2012

My apologies for the recent silence; I have been hard at work creating--and now installing!--an exhibition entitled "Savior of Mothers: The Forgotten Ballet of Ignaz Semmelweis." The show officially opens at the David J. Sencer CDC Museum in association with the Smithsonian Institution at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia next Monday, June 11th.

More on the exhibition, from the CDC Museum website:

Savior of Mothers: The Forgotten Ballet of Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis is an installation of artifacts and ephemera related to an imaginary 19th century ballet created by artist Joanna Ebenstein. The ballet is based on the true story of the brilliant, yet reviled Hungarian doctor Ignaz Semmelweis (1818-1865). Scenes range from his earliest attempts to curb the "childbed fever" epidemic in his Viennese obstetrical clinic to his premature death of the very disease he had spent his life trying to defeat. Ebenstein was drawn to Semmelweis' distinctive story not only for its topical and scientific theme--albeit tinged by melodrama and mythic elements--but also for its mixture of beauty and the grotesque. His tale, best suited to the form of a popular tragedy, makes ballet the ideal medium for Semmelweis' tale. Ebenstein's installation includes costume designs for the "Plague Demons of Cadaverous Particles"--expressionistic representations of the virulent bacteria Streptococcus pyogenes itself--and the "12 mourning mothers from beyond the grave," as well as model theaters, posters, and more.

More on this to come very soon; In the meantime, above are some photos of the installation as it inches along. My favorite piece is the very truly enchanting model theatre (bottom 2 images), designed by the astounding Chris Muller and executed by the exceptionally talented Jason Ardizzone-West; it depicts a set for of a mid-19th century anatomical theatre in which some of the major action of the ballet takes place.

The exhibition opens on next Monday, June 11th, at the David J. Sencer Museum at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia. More can be found here.

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Tonight at Observatory! Mel Gordon is one of our all-time most
fascinating and charismatic speakers, and an inspiring historian of all things
fringe, forgotten, and perverse. His lectures are simply not to be missed. Hope
to see you at Observatory this evening!

"Historians digging into the archives to reconstruct the
chronicle of the Twentieth Century will have to deal with this strange
phenomenon of Erik Jan Hanussen, born Herschmann Steinschneider in the
humble home of a poor Jewish actor in Vienna. It will be their task to
unravel a complex maze of reality and legend, myth and romance, to
reach the core of the true personality of Steinschneider, alias
Hanussen, and his influence on one of the most significant chapters of
European history, the ascent and reign of Adolf Hitler." --Pierre van Paassen, Redbook Magazine, "The Date of Hitler's Fall," May 1942

When Pierre van Paassen, the prominent Dutch author and foreign correspondent, wrote the above for McCall's Redbook Magazine,
the "amazing exploits of Erik Jan Hanussen" were still hot
international filler. What could have been more titillating than the
true and enigmatic story of a Jewish mystic who helped usher in the
Third Reich before becoming one of its first victims?

Tonight, join Mel Gordon--author of Erik Jan Hanussen: Hitler's Jewish Clairvoyant--foran
illustrated lecture on the amazing story of Hitler's Jewish Clairvoyant
featuring a special screening of "lost" film footage from Hanussen's
1919 "Hypnosis: Hanussen's First Adventure," a Caligari-like story of
sex magic and the occult, and other documentary sources. Books will
also be available for sale and signing.